Photos: Robot, giddyap!

Robot camel jockeys are put through their paces in a July 2005 trial race featuring seven such machines. Officials in the United Arab Emirates plan to order as many as 10,000 robots, which cost about $2,000 apiece, according to Reuters.

Robot riders are taking their place in the saddle as Persian Gulf states take heat from human rights activists for the use of boy jockeys. The rider in red is a robot named Kamel from the Swiss company K-Team.

A dismounted robot after an April 2005 trial run in Qatar. The Associated Press reported that the mechanical jockey rode a camel for 1.5 miles at speeds up to 25 miles per hour.

By 2007, all camel racers in Qatar will be mechanical. This robot receives commands from a remote control up to a half-mile away that delivers four instructions: forward, backward, sideways and whip action, the AP reports.